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Wednesday, October 22, 2014

10/15/14 – New YorkToday was kind of a rough day. We drove to our hotel in Lake George (The Georgian Lakeside Inn) which was supposed to have a restaurant and a couple of bars. It sounded lovely online. When we drove through town, we found that most of the town was closed for the season (even the McDonalds!). When we tried to check in at 1pm, we were told that the room wouldn’t be ready until after 3. When I asked about the restaurant or bars, I was told they were closed for the season and the girl was pretty rude about it. We ended up calling hotel.com and asking to cancel our reservation without penalties since the hotel wasn’t as advertised. They immediately cancelled without any penalty. Then we drove to Kingston to find a motel for the night. On the way down we stopped at Martin Van Buren’s home and took a tour which was pretty interesting. We had a coupon for the Super Lodge and it seemed pretty nice. Then we went to the Stadium Diner for a wonderful dinner. For $9.95, I had the senior dinner which included a large bowl of mushroom soup, a large tossed salad, a huge hamburger steak with onions and gravy plus a baked potato. Included was also a large bowl of ice cream with whipped cream! On the way back to the motel, we turned in the wrong exit of a roundabout and looked up to a toll booth! When we told the girl we took the wrong turn and needed to go back, she told us to make a u-turn. We didn’t know we had to go through the cash only line and ended up going through the EZ Pass line. When we got back to the hotel, I immediately called EZ Pass and the girl said that when I got a violation letter in the mail, I just needed to write a letter and ask that they waive the violation fee.

10/16/14 – New YorkWe had a lovely day yesterday. We drove up to Albany to tour the USS Slater – the only destroyer escort ship still around. My hubby served on one of these in the navy in 1969 so he really enjoyed seeing it. We didn’t know it existed until we saw the brochure in the motel lobby! Then we drove down to Hyde Park and spent the rest of the day at FDR’s home. We took a tour of his house and enjoyed it. We decided to use another $55 coupon for the Super Lodge in Kingston. Then we had dinner again at the Dietz Stadium Diner.

10/17 – New York We went to take a tour at the Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park and then to the Eleanor Roosevelt Site after that. After lunch we headed back to Kingston to check in the Super 8 where we will be spending the weekend. My sister and her friends arrived and after chatting with them, we left for dinner while they went to the Indie trunk show next door. When we got back from dinner, we walked over to the trunk show and I saw Wendy, Lois, MadaboutMatisse, Diane, and SO Waters! Then I came back and knit in the breakfast area for a while with my sister and her friends.

10/18 – NY Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, NYLink to pictures here.It was a wonderful day! We got in line about 7:30 and bought our tickets ($17 for a weekend pass each). By 9am, they let us in the gates and we headed to Bldg. C where I got 2 skeins of Miss Babs Rhinebeck colorway in the yummy sock base. Then we walked around. I was so thrilled to meet people in person that I know online. At the Ravelry meetup I met Alana Dakos, Hannah Fetig, The Savvy Girls (Melanie and Deborah), Jadee, Stockinette Zombies (Megan and Amy), and Knitting in Circles (Darin and Amy). At Jamlknitter (Lisa)’s birthday celebration in the beer garden, we met up with Wendy, Lois, and Sheila along with BostonJen. After dinner, I came back to the motel to knit with my sister and her friends until bedtime.

10/19 – NY Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, NY
We got there too early because I thought it opened at 9am but it didn’t open until 10am. Don stayed in the car until it opened but I visited with other knitters. We walked around and I bought a few more things. It was great to see Caron (from home) and her friend Charlie. It got so cold that we left around 2pm. On the way out, I stopped and talked to Leslie from The Knitgirllls Podcast.

Things I Learned:
1. Martin Van Buren was the first American born President.
2. FDR’s library was the first presidential library.
3. NY Sheep and Wool festival was huge!
4. Bring your own drinks and snacks with you to a festival like this.
5. It is good to get an early start and miss the traffic.
6. Bring a big tote bag to hold your goodies.